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If there is one subject that divides energy producers it’s the question of when oil demand will peak. Indeed, it is such a controversial topic that some senior figures like Saudi Arabia’s energy minister Khalid al-Falih prefer not to discuss it at all.

He claims talk of peak demand is dangerous. It threatens to reduce vital investment, “compromising” energy security, al-Falih said earlier this year. John Watson, boss of American oil giant Chevron, recently dismissed the idea of peak demand as “wishful thinking”. Still, like it or not, the question of when consumption begins to decline is casting an increasingly giant shadow over the industry.